April 14
Events *43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum. Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in Mutina, defeats the forces of the consul Pansa, who is killed. * 69 - Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeats Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum and seizes the throne. *1028 - Henry III, son of Conrad, is elected king of the Germans. *1205 - Battle of Adrianople between Bulgarians and Crusaders. *1341 - Sack of Saluzzo (Italy) by Italian-Angevine troops under Manfred V of Saluzzo *1434 - The foundation stone of Cathedral St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes, France was laid. *1471 - In England, the Yorkists under Edward IV defeat the Lancastrians under Warwick at the battle of Barnet; the Earl of Warwick is killed and Edward IV resumes the throne. *1632 - Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. *1699 - Khalsa. Birth of Khalsa, the brotherhood of the Sikh religion, in Northern India in accordance with the Nanakshahi calendar. *1775 - The first abolition society in the North America is established. The "Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage" is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush. *1828 - Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary. *1831 - Soldiers marching on a bridge in Manchester, England cause it to collapse. *1846 - The Donner Party of pioneers departs Springfield, Illinois, for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship, cannibalism, and survival. *1849 - Hungary declares itself independent of Austria with Louis Kossuth as its leader. *1860 - The first Pony Express rider reaches Sacramento, California. *1864 - Battle of Dybbøl: A Prussian-Austrian army defeats Denmark and gains control of Schleswig. Denmark surrenders the province in the following peace settlement. *1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth. * 1865 - U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and his family are attacked in his home by Lewis Powell. *1881 - The Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight erupted in El Paso, Texas. *1890 - The Pan-American Union is founded by the First International Conference of American States in Washington. *1894 - Thomas Edison demonstrates the kinetoscope, a device for peep-show viewing using photographs that flip in sequence, a precursor to movies. *1912 - The British ocean liner [[Wikipedia:RMS Titanic|RMS Titanic]] strikes an iceberg in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage at 11:40 P.M., sinking with the loss of over 1,500 lives at about 2:20 a.m. the following morning. *1915 - The Turks invade Armenia. *1927 - The first Volvo car premieres, in Gothenburg, Sweden. *1931 - Spanish Cortes deposes King Alfonso XIII and proclaims the 2nd Spanish Republic. *1935 - "Black Sunday", the worst dust storm of the Dust Bowl. * 1935 - Babe Ruth plays his first National League game in Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. In this year, he played for the Boston Braves. Also, Ruth plays 28 games, getting 13 hits and six home runs, before retiring. *1940 - Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway, occupying key points, preparatory to a larger force arriving two days later. *1941 - World War II: The Ustashe, a Croatian far-right organization that pursued Nazi and fascist policies, is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis Powers after the April 6 invasion of Yugoslavia during Operation 25. *1944 - A massive explosion rocks the Bombay harbor killing 300 and causing a loss of 20 million pounds at that time. See: Bombay Explosion. *1945 - Osijek, Croatia, is liberated from fascistic occupation. *1956 - Videotape is first demonstrated at the 1956 NARTB (now NAB) convention in Chicago, Illinois. It is the demonstration of the first practical and commercially successful format called 2" Quadruplex. *1958 - The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit after a mission duration of 162 days. *1962 - Georges Pompidou becomes Prime Minister of France. *1964 - A Delta rocket's third-stage motor prematurely ignites in an assembly room at Cape Canaveral, killing 3. *1968 - At the Academy Awards, a tie between Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand results in the two sharing the Best Actress Oscar; Hepburn also becomes the only actress to win three Best Actress Oscars. *1978 - 1978 Tbilisi Demonstrations: thousands of Georgians demonstrate against the attempt by the Soviet authorities to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language. *1981 - The first operational space shuttle, Columbia, lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California after its first test flight. *1986 - In retaliation for the April 5 bombing of the La Belle Discotheque in West Berlin in which two U.S. servicemen were killed, Ronald Reagan orders major bombing raids against Tripoli and Benghazi, in Libya, which kills 60 people. * 1986 - 2.2 pound (1 kg) hailstones fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92. These are the heaviest hailstones ever recorded. *1988 - [[Wikipedia:USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58)|USS Samuel B. Roberts]] strikes a mine in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will. U.S. retaliates against Iran on April 18 with Operation Praying Mantis. * 1988 - In a United Nations ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. *1994 - In a friendly fire incident during Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq, two United States Air Force F-15 aircraft mistakenly shoot-down two United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, killing 26 people. *1999 - NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees - Yugoslav officials say 75 people are killed. *1999 - A severe hailstorm lasting only one hour, causes over $1.5 billion worth of damage, in Sydney, Australia. *2000 - Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich filed a lawsuit against P2P sharing phenomenon Napster. This law-suit eventually led the movement against file-sharing programs. *2002 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by his country's military. *2003 - Human Genome Project successfully completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to 99.99% accuracy. * 2003 - U.S. troops in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner the Achille Lauro in 1985. *2005 - Oregon Supreme Court nullifies nearly 3,000 marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Multnomah County. *2007 - At least 200,000 demonstrators in Ankara, Turkey protest against the possible candidacy of incumbent Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan * 2007 - 33 passengers are killed in Aksaray, Turkey in a bus crash going to Cappadocia. * 2007 - National Lawn Chair Day * 2007 - Hartlepool United are promoted to Coca Cola League One after they win 1-0 at Wycombe Wanderers. Births *1336 - Emperor Go-Kogon of Japan (d. 1374) *1572 - Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician (d. 1632) *1578 - King Philip III of Spain (d. 1621) *1629 - Christiaan Huygens, Dutch mathematician (d. 1695) *1668 - Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish General (d. 1741) *1714 - Adam Gib, Scottish religious leader (d. 1788) *1738 - William Cavendish-Bentinck, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1809) *1741 - Emperor Momozono of Japan (d. 1762) *1773 - Jean-Baptiste Guillaume Joseph, French statesman (d. 1854) *1788 - David G. Burnet, interim president of the Republic of Texas (d. 1870) *1827 - Augustus Pitt-Rivers, English archaeologist (d. 1900) *1857 - Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, Youngest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (d. 1944) *1866 - Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher (d. 1936) *1868 - Peter Behrens, German architect (d. 1940) *1870 - Victor Borisov-Musatov, Russian painter (d. 1905) * 1870 - Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (d. 1929) *1872 - Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Islamic scholar (d. 1953) *1886 - Ernst Robert Curtius, Alsatian philologist (d. 1956) *1891 - B. R. Ambedkar, Indian jurist (d.1956) *1892 - Vere Gordon Childe, Australian philologist (d. 1957) *1897 - Claire Windsor, American actress (d. 1972) *1902 - Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Ukrainian rabbi (d. 1994) * 1902 - Sylvio Mantha, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1974) *1904 - Sir John Gielgud, English actor (d. 2000) *1905 - Elizabeth Huckaby, American educator (d. 1999) *1907 - François Duvalier, Haitian politician (d. 1971) *1917 - Marvin Miller, American labor activist * 1917 - Valerie Hobson, British actress (d. 1998) *1921 - Thomas Schelling, American economist, Nobel laureate *1923 - Roberto De Vicenzo, Argentine golf player *1924 - Shorty Rogers, American jazz musician (d. 1994) *1925 - Gene Ammons, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1974) * 1925 - Abel Muzorewa, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe * 1925 - Rod Steiger, American actor (d. 2002) *1926 - Frank Daniel, Czech-born writer, director and teacher (d. 1996) * 1926 - Liz Renay, American actress (d. 2007) *1927 - Alan MacDiarmid, New Zealand chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2007) * 1927 - Dany Robin, French actress (d. 1995) *1929 - Gerry Anderson, English television producer *1930 - Bradford Dillman, American actor *1931 - Paul Masnick, Canadian ice hockey player *1935 - Loretta Lynn, American singer/songwriter * 1935 - Erich von Däniken, Swiss writer *1936 - Kenneth Mars, American actor * 1936 - Frank Serpico, American policeman * 1936 - Bobby Nichols, American professional golfer *1941 - Julie Christie, British actress * 1941 - Pete Rose, American baseball player *1942 - Valentin Lebedev, Russian cosmonaut * 1942 - Björn Rosengren, Swedish politician *1945 - Ritchie Blackmore, English guitarist * 1945 - Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, 8th Prime Minister of Samoa *1948 - Anastasios Papaligouras, Greek lawyer *1949 - DeAnne Julius, American/English economist * 1949 - John Shea, American actor *1951 - Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist *1952 - Mickey O'Sullivan, Irish sportsman *1953 - David Buss, Evolutionary psychologist *1954 - Bruce Sterling, American science fiction author *1957 - Lothaire Bluteau, Canadian actor * 1957 - Richard Jeni, American comedian (d. 2007) * 1957 - Mikhail Pletnev, Russian pianist, conductor and composer *1958 - John D'Aquino, American actor *1960 - Brad Garrett, American actor *1961 - Robert Carlyle, British actor *1964 - Brian Adams, American professional wrestler *1966 - David Justice, American baseball player * 1966 - Greg Maddux, American baseball player * 1966 - André Boisclair, Quebec politician (Parti Québécois) *1967 - Alain Côté, French Canadian ice hockey player *1968 - Anthony Michael Hall, American actor *1969 - Brad Ausmus, American baseball player * 1969 - Vebjørn Selbekk, Norwegian journalist * 1969 - Martyn LeNoble, Dutch musician *1970 - Shizuka Kudo, Japanese singer * 1970 - Emre Altuğ, Turkish singer *1971 - Gregg Zaun, American baseball player *1972 - Paul Devlin, England-born Scottish footballer * 1972 - Roberto Mejia, Dominican baseball player *1973 - Roberto Ayala, Argentine footballer * 1973 - Adrien Brody, American actor * 1973 - David Miller, American tenor (Il Divo) *1974 - Shawntae Harris (aka Da Brat), American rapper *1975 - Amy Dumas, American professional wrestler * 1975 - Veronika Zemanová, Czech model * 1975 - Avner Dorman, Israeli composer *1976 - Anna DeForge, American basketball player * 1976 - Jason Wiemer, Canadian ice hockey player * 1976 - Kyle Farnsworth, American baseball player *1977 - Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress *1979 - Rebecca DiPietro, American model * 1979 - Randal McCloy Jr., sole survivor of the Sago Mine Disaster * 1979 - Noé Pamarot, French footballer *1980 - Ben Wells, American actor *1983 - James McFadden, Scottish footballer *1984 - Adán Sánchez, Mexican-American singer (d. 2004) *1986 - Matt Derbyshire, English footballer *1987 - Joao Barion, Brazilian racing driver *1993 - Vivien Cardone, an American actress *1993 - Graham Phillips, an young American actor that played in Evan Almighty *1996 - Abigail Breslin, American child actress Deaths *1132 - Mstislav of Kiev (b. 1076) *1279 - Boleslaus of Greater Poland *1322 - Bartholomew de Badlesmere, English soldier (b. 1275) *1345 - Richard Aungerville, English bishop and writer (b. 1287) *1471 - Richard Neville, English kingmaker (b. 1428) *1574 - Louis of Nassau, Dutch general (killed in battle) (b. 1538) *1578 - James Hepburn, consort of Mary I of Scotland *1599 - Henry Wallop, English statesman *1612 - Sasaki Kojiro, Japanese samurai (killed by Musashi Miyamoto) *1662 - William Fiennes, English statesman (b. 1582) *1682 - Avvakum, Russian priest and writer (b. 1621) *1716 - Arthur Herbert, British admiral *1721 - Michel Chamillart, French statesman (b. 1652) *1759 - George Frideric Handel, German composer (b. 1685) *1785 - William Whitehead, English writer (b. 1715) *1792 - Maximilian Hell, Slovakian astronomer (b. 1720) *1910 - Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter (b. 1856) *1911 - Addie Joss, American baseball player (b. 1880) * 1911 - Henri Elzéar Taschereau, French Canadian jurist and Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1836) *1912 - Henri Brisson, French statesman (b. 1835) *1914 - Hubert Bland, English co-founder of the Fabian Society (b. 1855) *1917 - Ludovich Lazarus Zamenhof, Polish creator of Esperanto (b. 1859) *1925 - John Singer Sargent, English artist (b. 1856) *1930 - Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russian writer (b. 1893) *1935 - Amalie Emmy Noether, German mathematician (b. 1882) *1941 - Guillermo Kahlo, father of Frida Kahlo (b. 1871) *1950 - Sri Ramana Maharshi, Indian philosopher (b. 1879) *1964 - Tatyana Alexeyevna Afanasyeva, Russian/Dutch mathematician (b. 1876) * 1964 - Rachel Carson, American environmentalist (b. 1907) *1968 - Al Benton, American baseball player (b. 1911) *1975 - Fredric March, American actor (b. 1897) *1976 - José Revueltas, Mexican writer (b. 1914) *1983 - Pete Farndon, English bassist (The Pretenders) (b. 1952) *1984 - Dionisis Papagiannopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1912) *1986 - Simone de Beauvoir, French feminist writer (b. 1908) *1994 - Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, Pakistani scientist and scholar (b. 1897) *1995 - Burl Ives, American singer and actor (b. 1909) *1999 - Ellen Corby, American actress (b. 1911) * 1999 - Anthony Newley, British actor and singer (b. 1931) *2000 - Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player (b. 1910) * 2000 - Phil Katz, American computer programmer (b. 1962) * 2000 - Wilf Mannion, English footballer (b. 1918) *2001 - Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director (b. 1927) *2006 - Mahmut Bakalli, Kosovo politician (b. 1936) *2007 - June Callwood, Canadian journalist, author and social activist (b. 1924) * 2007 - Don Ho, American musician (b. 1930) Holidays and observances *Astrological New Year - celebrated as new year in South and South East Aisa. Namely by Bengalis, Burmese, Cambodians, Laotians, Malayalees, Punjabis, Sinhalese, Tamils and Thais. *N'Ko Alphabet Day - the anniversary of the day the N'Ko alphabet was completed in 1949. *Black Day - Informal celebration day for single people in South Korea. *Youth Day in Angola. *Mologa Day in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia *National Day of Climate Action in the United States *Day of the Georgian language in Georgia *Ambedkar Jayanti in India External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:April